


What Goes Up, Must Come Down

by ohmyheartsbeentried



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Fluff, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, M/M, Roller Coasters
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-21
Updated: 2015-08-21
Packaged: 2018-04-16 12:56:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4626117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ohmyheartsbeentried/pseuds/ohmyheartsbeentried
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Don't make that face. You're not getting out of this, Der. Don't even think about faking sick." Erica raises an eyebrow to emphasize her point as Derek eyes the trash can a few feet from them.</p><p>"You'll be fine. I've been on this ride plenty of times," Isaac says, trying for reassuring but landing somewhere between condescending and smug. </p><p>OR </p><p>The one where Derek’s pack chooses a bonding trip to Six Flags.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What Goes Up, Must Come Down

"Don't make that face. You're not getting out of this, Der. Don't even think about faking sick." Erica raises an eyebrow to emphasize her point as Derek eyes the trash can a few feet from them. 

"You'll be fine. I've been on this ride plenty of times," Isaac says, trying for reassuring but landing somewhere between condescending and smug. Derek doesn't need another reminder of how childish he's being. In an effort to incorporate the pack's interests into their bonding time (rather than just mandatory training), he let them plan a trip to wherever. (He definitely should have set some boundaries.) 

Of course, *his* pack had to choose a bonding trip to Six Flags.  
  


Derek shoots Isaac a glare. He doesn't understand how a kid who had a fear of metal boxes could enjoy one that reaches high speeds and also drops and twists repeatedly through the air. But such is Derek's life. He just doesn't like being so high and so far from the ground, surrounded by steel and gears and not a lick of nature. It sets his wolf on edge. 

Boyd's hand lands on his shoulder with a firm squeeze and suddenly the ride is emptying, they're moving forward, and their seats are open. Derek tries not to panic as Erica pushes him into the seat between her and Isaac, Boyd flanking her other side. 

"C'mon, Der. You're gonna be fine. Get your tail out from between your legs. This'll be fun," she says nudging her arm up against his before pulling the seat bar down. Derek copies her, but there's a roaring sound that's building in his ears and his vision tunnels to the steep, looming track before them (because of course Erica wanted them to sit in the front row). His knuckles are white as they grip the seat's bars and he can faintly hear the metal creak beneath his hands- "Hey! How is everyone doing today?" 

A whiff of lemon and sweat tears Derek's eyes away from the track, a pair of amber eyes catch his and spindly, long fingers push and tug at his seat. "Great, Stiles. How are you?" Surprisingly, this is Isaac that responds in a familiar and even fond tone. Stiles, the boy with the pale, mole-spotted skin and the magnificent fingers and mesmerizing eyes, turns a brilliant smile towards Isaac, checks his seat too. 

"Awesome! It's good to see you back, fighting your fears."

"He's not the only one facing his fears today," Erica remarks snidely. Stiles raises his eyebrows. "It's Derek's first time on a roller coaster." Stiles' eyebrows raise impossibly higher as he obviously takes in Derek's bulky form squished into the ride's seat. Derek expects a snide remark or at least a smirk. He's completely caught off guard when Stiles gives him a genuine smile and almost absent-mindedly tugs on his seat bar again, fingers brushing close to his. 

"Everyone's scared their first time. Hurtling down a steel track in a metal box isn't normal or natural."

"Thank you!" Derek almost yells, startling both himself, Stiles, and his friends from the looks on their faces and the stutter of his own heart. Stiles gives him a genuine smile, teeth and all. 

Before anything else can be said, the loud speaker bursts into life, presumably saying something important overhead and Stiles cocks his head to listen and then turns to continue his safety duties for the other riders. Not even a minute has gone by and Derek already misses his presence, already wants to skip this ride for other reasons altogether. The loud speaker starts counting down their ride and Derek can't block out the pounding of his own heartbeat let alone those of the other riders.

"Hey." Stiles appears next to their row again. "I'll see you in a few, okay big guy?" He can feel his mouth quirk in an almost smile as he nods. Stiles smiles as he raises a thumb for the conductor. Derek wishes he could smile so easily. The ride suddenly jerks into motion, leaving Stiles behind, and starts clicking up the hill.

"You should totally ask him out," Erica comments, swinging her feet in the open air.

"I just met him, Erica. And he probably thinks I'm a pathetic loser," Derek grumbles sourly.

"You are," she concedes and Derek growls in response, "but you have many better qualities that outweigh those." 

Derek focuses on her steady heartbeat instead of the landscape that grows farther away by the second (they're barely halfway up). "You should let him see the grounded Derek," she continues smugly and Isaac laughs outright at her pun, even Boyd manages a chuckle. Derek won't admit that she has a point because it's futile since Stiles works at the park and he couldn't possibly bug him at work.

"You should definitely bug Stiles at work though," Isaac pipes up as if he can read Derek's mind. "He loves goofing off."

"How did you know- What does-" Derek doesn't have time to form a coherent question because suddenly the hill is gone and there's only a steep drop in front of them.

"Here we go!" Erica yells and Derek's heart is in his throat. The ride careens over the edge, building speed and leaving his stomach far behind. There's a sharp turn at the bottom and then there's upside down loops and corkscrews and drops that continuously confuse his senses. He tries closing his eyes for a second but that only makes it worse. Erica shrieks gleefully beside him and Boyd laughs openly in delight; Isaac somehow keeps his hands up the entire time. 

Thankfully, the ride doesn't last more than a couple minutes and (not) soon enough they're pulling back into the ride's station and unbuckling their seats.  
Derek's jerking at his seat futilely, not wanting to break it but needing it off ASAP, when the scent of lemon surrounds him again and those familiar fingers are deftly tugging his seat loose and setting him free. 

"Told you you'd be okay," Stiles says with a grin. Isaac pointedly nudges him in the side as he passes and herds Erica and Boyd away from them. Derek's heart hasn't seemed to receive the message that the ride is over because it's still pounding furiously in his chest. He takes a quick breath and- 

"You lied." Stiles' smile drops so fast and Derek's tongue is tied up in his mouth. "No, I mean, you said I'd see you in a few minutes, but it's been years, I mean it's felt like years... Since I've seen... you." Derek wants to smack himself in the face for his eloquence, but a smile tentatively creeps back onto Stiles' face. 

"Was that a pickup line? What's next? 'It feels like years because I've been waiting for you my whole life' or some shit?" Derek's stomach drops as fast as it did on the ride. He obviously read Stiles wrong, he's not interested, he's just going to make fun of him for being pathetic at everything-

"Hey, wait! Derek! I'm sorry!" He almost reaches the exit before Stiles catches him with a hand on his shoulder. Derek can't even look him in the eye so he watches the next groups of riders filing onto the ride. "I thought you were trying to ask me out and I kinda panicked and my default is sarcasm so I just made fun of you and I'm a complete asshole, I'm so sorry."

At this point, Derek is able to finally look at him and see the sincerity and delightful blush that covers his face. "I was," Derek says, "I was trying to ask you out. But... I haven't done this in a while."

"Stiles!" A ride conductor yells from behind him.

"Give me a sec, Carly," he says and then turns to Derek. "I get off in like a half hour for lunch, want to meet me at the Dippin' Dots stand?" Derek nods and allows his lips to form a small smile. It's worth it to see Stiles' smile in return. "I'll see you in a while okay big guy?" Derek's smile widens as he shakes his head, "okay."

Erica, Boyd, and Isaac are beside themselves when Derek relays what happened. Well, Erica punches his shoulder and says, "told you so", Isaac smiles so much his cheeks dimple, and Boyd just nods with a small smile. They hang out with Derek for a bit to give him advice. Erica advised him to take off his shirt to distract from his surly disposition while Isaac said they should go on a ride together (Derek wasn't too thrilled at the idea.) Boyd actually gave solid advice which was to not talk about past relationships for either of them and Derek agreed. He didn't want stiles to run away screaming and he frankly didn't want to know if Stiles actually had any skeletons in his closet - though with Derek's track record that would be highly probable. He'll save that talk for another date- if there's another date.

Erica, Boyd, and Isaac wander away at some point to catch some more rides and also to give Derek privacy (though he knows they'll find them eventually and make his life hell). The Dippin’ Dots stand is teeming with people looking for a cool release from the hot summer air.

"I always wanted to be an astronaut when I was a kid," a familiar voice says from directly behind him. Derek turns; Stiles is still in his uniform (a white polo tucked into khaki pants with a black belt and white Adidas), hands shoved deep in his pockets. His posture makes him look younger and less in control than he was at the ride. (Derek also misses looking at his hands. Stiles has nice hands.) 

“Really?” Derek asks, disbelieving.

"Okay, fine. I didn't," he relents. "But it seemed like a great opener when we're about to get astronaut food."

"You know they don't actually eat Dippin’ Dots in space, right?" Stiles' mouth crooks at the question and Derek smiles as Stiles releases his hands from his pockets and starts gesturing wildly.

"You don't know that! They could be rolling around in zero gravity acting like Pac Man trying to eat as many dots as they can." Derek raises an eyebrow at this strange boy. "Don't ruin the image, big guy." He winks and Derek's heart is suddenly back on the rollercoaster.

"Do you want Dippin’ Dots or not?" Derek says and Stiles looks crestfallen at his brusqueness until he sees the smirk Derek's sporting.

"Yes, but don't forget this was my idea," he says leading them towards the line. Derek ducks his head to smile and Stiles bumps their shoulders together. "So, what're you into?"

Derek flushes and gapes, Stiles sputters, "Shit, no, I meant flavors of ice cream- ohmygosh-"

Derek chuckles at the earnest tone to his words, "It's okay. Um," he takes a second to look at the flavors board. "I'll probably get vanilla."

A quick burst of laughter escapes Stiles, "Of course you would, you boring old man."

Derek raises his eyebrows and deadpans, “Well, they didn’t have butterscotch.“ The pure joy of Stiles’ laugh makes this entire hellish day worth it. “What’re you going to get?”

Once his laughter subsides a bit, Stiles answers, "I'll have you know that I'll be ordering the best flavor they have to offer." He pauses for dramatic effect. “Strawberry lemonade.”

Now it's Derek's turn to laugh. "That can't be the best flavor."

“On a piping hot summer’s day? You bet.” As if for effect, Stiles tugs at his shirt to get air flowing. Derek stares too long at his collarbones. They reach the front of the line and the girl behind the counter recognizes Stiles, “Oh hey, Stiles. You want your usual?” Stiles’ eyes flick to Derek as he rubs his neck. “Uh, yeah, Josie. That’d be great. Also, could I get a vanilla for the big guy?” He points a thumb at Derek and his heart warms. He could get used to the nickname. 

Stiles waves off Derek’s move to pay as they grab their dots and start walking. “So,” Derek says. “Come here often?” Stiles snorts and his dots go flying, sizzling on the hot cement. 

“You dick,” he says, but he’s smiling, wiping ice cream off his chin. Derek hands him a napkin. “It’s close to my post and ice cream is fucking delicious okay?”

“Hey, no judgment,” Derek says. “I’m just making sure you don’t take all the vulnerable, scared guys there.” He knows he’s fishing, but he wants to check. He’s been burned before. 

Stiles outright laughs. “HA, no. You’re the first. If the khakis, hideous polo, and shitty job don’t deter enough, my ability to have my foot in my mouth all the time would definitely do it.”

Derek smirks, “Limber.” Stiles eyes widen and then he chokes out a laugh. 

“Jesus, you’re funny too.” 

“You can call me, Derek.” 

Stiles’ belly laugh is worth the awful puns and embarrassing flirting he’s doing, but - he feels good with Stiles. Comfortable. He hasn’t been comfortable with anyone since-

“Hey, you okay?” Stiles lightly touches his arm. Derek didn’t realize he’d been clenching his jaw, ice cream melting in the little cup in his hand.

Derek nods. “Sorry. Yeah, I’m good. Get lost in my head sometimes.” Stiles nods knowingly.

“I know what you mean, dude. I have ADHD so if I get lost it’s usually among a ton of different thoughts rather than just one thought, which is kind of overwhelming, but similar issue.” Derek smiles at his frankness. 

“Hey, you up for another ride? I’ll go with you this time!” Stiles swerves to throw away his empty cup and holds the trash open for Derek. Stiles’ face is lit up, but Derek’s stomach plummets. 

“I don’t know…”

“Oh come on, I’ll choose a really easy one,” Stiles says. Derek supposes a leisurely ride could be like riding in an actual car. “I’ll even hold you hand.” Stiles slips his hand in Derek’s, lacing their fingers together. Derek’s pretty sure his face is on fire, but his lips turn up in a pleased smile. 

“Okay,” he relents. 

“Yes!” Stiles fist pumps. “Onwards!” He tugs Derek through the park and the regret starts to set in. 

***

“Apocalypse: The Ride?! THIS is your easy ride?!”

“Oh, come on, Derek. You know the names are always blown out of proportion,” Stiles says tugging Derek into the line. They file into a sheltered line below the ride, thankfully out of the sun, but unfortunately there’s no breeze. There are neon lights in each hallway and TVs mounted on the walls playing a recording of some guy warning them about their impending doom. Derek ignores him. Stiles squeezes his hand and leads him up towards the platform. Derek is ridiculously glad Stiles hasn’t let go. 

When they get up to the loading area, a few employees recognize Stiles and a couple warn him he shouldn’t be riding. “Eh, Finstock can fire me if he wants to.” Derek’s shocked face mirrors those of Stiles’ coworkers.

“We shouldn’t do this, I don’t want to get you in trouble-“ 

“Oh no. You aren’t getting out of this, big guy,” Stiles says, bracketing him against the dividing bar behind him. All the air leaves Derek’s lungs as his eyes flick down to Stiles’ lips. Said lips quirk in an obvious smirk as Stiles steps back and herds them forward in line. 

“If we’re going to be breaking rules, we should at least cut the line so this is over faster,” Derek suggests.

Stiles refuses. “Waiting is part of the experience, Derek. It builds the suspense! Also, are you so quick to get rid of me?”

Derek rolls his eyes. “I’d rather spend more time with you on the ground.”

Stiles chuckles, good-natured. “Fair enough. Next date, you get to pick the place.” He obviously meant it as a throwaway comment, but Derek gently squeezes his hand to get his attention. 

“I’d like that.” Stiles’ smile is soft and this time, his eyes flick towards Derek’s lips. The arrival of the previous ride ruins the moment. Soon, they hustle into their seats and strap into the cart. 

“Wait. Where’s the shoulder thingy?” Derek asks looking around.

“What do you mean?” Stiles says pulling his lap bar down snug and doing the same for Derek.

“So there’s no safety harness on this one.”

“No?” Stiles replies in a sheepish tone. “You’ll be fine! There’s no need for one on this ride.”

“What.”

“It’s not like you’re going to fall out.”

“Stiles.”

“Derek, you just went on one of the most difficult rides, this one will be a breeze!”

Derek tries not to sulk. He likes hanging out with Stiles, but he really doesn’t like these rides.

“Look. I chose this one because you can always see the track and it doesn’t go too fast, okay?” Stiles offers his hand, palm-up. Derek thinks about how disorienting the last one was and realizes this is really thoughtful. He takes his hand. 

“Thanks,” he tugs Stiles’ arm so he’s holding it against his chest, Stiles’ face is subsequently brought closer. “But I’m not going on another ride after this.”

A smile tugs on Stiles’ lips. “Deal.” He leans in closer, pausing for a second before pressing his lips firmly against Derek’s. A pleasant warmth fills his core as he presses back, anchoring Stiles’ head with his left hand. When they pull back, Stiles’ lips are red and lush and Derek wants to dive back in, but Stiles starts laughing. Derek’s heart clenches in his chest. 

“No, sorry. I just realized we must make a weird sight with you cradling my arm and me practically in your seat.” Derek chuckles and releases Stiles’ arm, blushing furiously. 

The ride jerks into motion and Derek’s heart jumps for a whole other reason. This hill is a bit faster than the previous one, but the angle is steeper. Derek groans.

“You’re going to be fine! Dude, check out this view. Ugh, this is why I work here.” Desert mountains stretch as far as they can see, turning into blue shadows in the distance. Derek feels the itch to shift. 

“Really?”

Stiles laughs, “No, but it doesn’t hurt.” 

The cart finally reaches the top and Derek sighs in relief to see the track angles easily to the left, it picks up speed and continues under the numerous support beams, but like Stiles said, the path of the cart is easy to follow. It’s a bit shaky, but it’s easier to cope with when he knows where they’re going. Of course, that’s when they go through a tunnel. 

And another. And another. Thankfully, they’re short and nothing to get worked up over. Stiles yells in joy for every single one and grips Derek’s hand tightly. The ride winds down and Derek doesn’t feel as bad after this one. 

“See? That wasn’t so bad right? What’d you think?”

“I don’t think I’d say it was enjoyable, but it wasn’t as terrible as the first.”

“So diplomatic,” Stiles chuckles as their harnesses are raised and they climb out of the car. 

They head back towards Stiles’ post and pass under a ride’s track just as a coaster thunders by. Derek has a full body flinch.

“So obviously your fear of roller coasters has disappeared,” Stiles says slyly. 

“Shut up,” Derek growls but there’s no heat behind it. Stiles bumps his shoulder against his and they share a small smile. 

They run into Isaac, Erica, and Boyd on the way back to Stiles’ post. “Wait,” Erica squints at him. “Derek’s hair is even more messed up than usual - you guys either made out or went on another ride without us.”

“Those are not mutually exclusive,” Stiles comments and winks at Derek. His heart flutters in his chest and he wonders how he fell so hard so fast - like a roller coaster. He cringes internally at the comparison.

Erica squawks in delight as Boyd and Isaac high five. Stiles reels Derek in for a goodbye kiss. It’s firm and deep and grounding. Like a promise. 

That’s Derek’s favorite part of the day.


End file.
